Rifle deal with US not cancelled – PNP

From Malaya Business Insight (Nov 3): Rifle deal with US not cancelled – PNP

THE Philippine National Police yesterday said the deal to buy some 27,000 assault rifles from the US has not been cancelled, contrary to a wire report.

PNP spokesman Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos said a letter from Amaro Goncalvez, executive vice president of Global Defense Sales which is a division of firearms maker Sig Sauer in the US, did not say anything about the deal being cancelled.

The letter was dated Nov. 1, 2016 and sent to Intrade Asia Pacific Corporation, the representative of Sig Sauer in the Philippines.

President Duterte chided the United States, calling those behind the decision to cancel the sale “fools” and “monkeys” and indicated he might turn to Russia and China instead. Duterte’s tirades against the former colonial power are routine during his speeches and he said on Wednesday he once believed in Washington, but had since lost respect for what is the Philippines’ biggest ally.

“Look at these monkeys, the 26,000 firearms we wanted to buy, they don’t want to sell,” Duterte said. “Son of a bitch, we have many home-made guns here. These American fools.”

Reuters, in an article from Washington dated October 31, said the US State Department halted the sale of some 26,000 assault rifles to the PNP after Sen. Ben Cardin, the top Democrat in the US Senate foreign relations committee, said he would oppose it. Quoting Cardin’s aides, the article also said Cardin “was reluctant for the United States to provide the weapons given concerns about human rights violations in the Philippines.”

According to procedures in Washington, the State Department informs Congress when international weapons sales are in the works. Aides said the State Department had been informed Cardin would oppose the deal during the pre-notification process, thus halting the sale.

Carlos said: “They sent a notice na wala namang problema… Kumbaga plano pa lang nung senator, wala pang formal notice from the US na cancelled na ang deal sa kanila,” he said.

Goncalves said the letter was about the “status of rifle export license to the Philippine National Police.”

“This letter responds to your request for a status of the export license that SIG Sauer submitted to the US State Department for approval of the sale of rifles to the Philippine National Police. This request is the result of media reports indicating that the license processing may be stalled in the US Senate,” it said.

“Sig Sauer contacted the State Department for a status of the license, and was advised earlier today that the license was being processed as normal. We will continue to monitor the status of this license and advise of any meaningful changes,” it added.

Carlos said an export license is normally being applied by the supplier from the US State Department since firearms are controlled items.

The PNP is buying 27,394 units of basic assault rifles (BAR) under the PNP’s Capability Enhancement Program for the years 2010 up to 2015.

The approved budget for the contract is P2 billion.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Cardin “has indicated concern but I don’t believe he has said he would stop it.”

“I don’t think, I think their system in the US is the same as here where a senator can express concern but that doesn’t necessarily stop the deal,” he also said.

PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa said the total cost for the assault rifles is P1.7, at around P64,000 for each rifle. The contract agreement was signed on July 13, 2016 and the “notice to proceed” to Intrade on July 29, 2016

He said the PNP expected the delivery of SIG M400 rifles early next year.

He said the PNP has not made any advance payment.

Dela Rosa also said if the sale does not push through, it will be the loss of the supplier and not the PNP. He said there are a lot of other arms suppliers worldwide and the PNP will just start to look for suppliers from Germany, Israel, Chin, Belgium, and Russia, among others.

Duterte reiterated that Russia and China had shown willingness to sell arms to the Philippines, but he would wait to see if his military wanted to continue using US weapons.

“Russia, they are inviting us. China also. China is open, anything you want, they sent me brochure saying we select there, we’ll give you.

“But I am holding off because I was asking the military if they have any problem. Because if you have, if you want to stick to America, fine.

“But, look closely and balance the situation, they are rude to us.”

The Armed Forces said its arms and equipment supply from the US would not be affected unless the long-standing Mutual Defense Treaty between US and Philippines would be abrogated.

AFP public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo said military arms and equipment from the Americans are acquired through the US Foreign Military Sales program, which he said is a mechanism provided under the MDT forged 1951.

Nevertheless, Arevalo said the AFP is open to acquiring weapons and equipment from other countries, provided that these assets are interoperable with the existing weapons and equipment of the Armed Forces.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said the firearms sale issue should not be turned into a human rights issue, reiterating that an invitation has already been sent to the United Nations to visit and investigate the allegations in the country.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/rifle-deal-us-not-cancelled-%E2%80%93-pnp